Statistics Of 2016 Political Spending On Ads

The presidential campaigns in 2016 saw much money being spent especially on media campaigns. Every candidate aired their ads, and the social media was abuzz with activity. The top spender in the campaign was Hillary Clinton, who spent approximately $200 million on her media campaigns. Her closest competitor and the current president, Donald Trump, only spent $70 million on his media campaigns. A lot of media coverage that they received was free, and Trump was the candidate who was able to earn the most.

The top spender in the campaign was Hillary Clinton, who spent approximately $200 million on her media campaigns.

Clinton Went All Out Right Out of the Gate

Clinton went all out when it came to her media campaign. By October, Clinton had spent about $140 million on TV and radio campaigns. Apart from Clinton’s campaigns, her supporters and the super PACs spent another $100 million on advertisements. Moreover, by November the total amount had gone up to $211 million. Her spending, though far more significant than her competitors, is less compared to her predecessors. The dip in the expenditure is credited to the fact that apart from TV ads, social media sites were extensively used. They come cheaper and have the capability of reaching to a broad audience. Not only Clinton but other candidates too cashed in on the popularity of social networking sites.

If we analyze Clinton’s expenditure, we will find that the money went to a couple of firms. GMMB earned $59,865,270. Automatic Data Processing Inc earned $15,620,651. Bully Interactive earned $11,882,761. Executive Fitways received $6,079,940. Moreover, others including Chapman, Cubine earned a collective sum of $5,611,839. This was the firm, wise analyses of Clinton’s expenditure. We can see how much she spent on marketing firms and human resource services.

Donald Trump Spent Campaign Funds Wisely

Now let’s talk about Donald Trump. By the time Clinton had already spent $200 million, Trump’s media campaign expenditure was only about $74 million. On analyzing his expenditure, it was found that Rick Reed Media earned $19,602,182. Ace Specialties earned $4,041,466. Wizbang Solutions earned $2,024,443. Giles-Parscale, the firm which is owned by his head of the digital campaign, Brad Parscale, earned about $1,958,872. His plan of spending is similar to any other candidate, but the amounts spent on each are way less than Clinton’s.

Unlike, Clinton’s ads which were mostly busy in slandering her opponents, Trump used a mix of everything. The positive ads at the end of October were hugely effective.

Trump released a total of 17 advertisements until October. Out of 17, six ads were made to attack his opponents. However, at the end of October, he released three consecutive advertisements that were entirely positive. Unlike, Clinton’s ads which were mostly busy in slandering her opponents, Trump used a mix of everything. The positive ads at the end of October were hugely effective.

Conclusion

Apart from individual expenditure, both Clinton and Trump received a lot of free media coverage. According to mediaQuant, Trump rode to victory on the $2 billion worth of free media coverage. A lot of different factors in play that resulted in Trump’s victory without having to shell out the big bucks. However, the presidential run of 2016 saw the overall media campaigning receive a lot more investment than any previous year. Though it was forecasted that it would be close to $11 billion, the total amount went up to an impressive $9.8 billion.